Discover the family-planning app that can free you from the pill

Elina Berglund Scherwitzl, the Swedish scientist who designed it, says it's as effective as oral contraceptives -- but without the side effects.

There is an app for tracking your fertility via basal temperature? Well, what a beautiful discovery!

Yes, we’re being a bit sarcastic. Actually, the “discovery” of basal temperature variations during a woman’s menstrual cycle is not new. Nor is knowledge of these variations’ connection with women’s fertile time, and the effectiveness of understanding this connection and abstaining on fertile days. Yes, it is very effective; like the pill, but totally non-invasive and free of side effects.

Elina Berglund Scherwitzl, who was taking a break from her day job as a nuclear physicist, collected data on her basal temperatures and created a precise algorithm to run background calculations on any woman’s fertility patterns, and then released it on the market as an app. It’s called Natural Cycles.

The product, launched in 2014, now has about 300,00 users who pay an annual fee of about 50 euros, which includes the thermometer for women to take their own temperature. The idea attracted investments of 6.6 million euros, and sales have grown to 5 million euros.

After all the increasingly refined and powerful chemical and biotechnological interventions on fertility and procreation, it’s great to see a significant turn toward a natural approach that is more respectful of women’s bodies. More and more modern, successful women are discovering that natural methods are best.